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Uganda deploys geospatial information system to increase access to electricity in rural communities

A Ci-Dev-supported GIS Platform will provide valuable data on connection and consumption, providing important information for the next phase of planning for national electrification.

Ci-Dev is helping to subsidize the cost of electricity connection for low-income households with funding from emissions reductions.

On January 20, 2020, Uganda’s Rural Electrification Agency launched an innovative new tool to upgrade its data processing system, storage and analysis capacities. The geographic information system (GIS) platform, supported by the World Bank’s Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev), also provides valuable data inputs that will help Uganda in next the phase of planning for national electrification.

The platform will allow for real-time monitoring of household connections and consumption. Field technicians from the local electricity service providers will be outfitted with GPS devices and have access to a mobile application to upload information. That information will be fed into a database, ensuring an optimal and reliable flow of valuable information to the Rural Electrification Agency. The government will use the data to review, approve, and track connection progress and inform electrification strategy. The data will also be used to validate the emissions reductions generated under the program’s activities.

Using this carbon revenue Ci-Dev is helping to improve the affordability of last-mile connections for rural households. Ci-Dev will purchase emissions reductions resulting from on-grid connections implemented under Uganda’s Rural Electrification Strategy, creating the funding to subsidize the cost of ready boards for low-income households.

The ready board—an electrical panel from which electricity is distributed that contains provisions for electrical outlets and lighting sockets—takes care of the need for the standard meter and conventional in-house wiring, providing a lower cost option for low-income households.

Ci-Dev’s model for results-based finance in Uganda is a great example of how proceeds from emission reductions from national electrification programs can be used to provide energy access to vulnerable, rural communities.